Don Friedman talks
to 441 about working on My Favorite Things, Waltz For Debby, and
more...
Don Friedman
Where
were you born?
San Francisco, California.
How did you get started as a musician?
My parents had a piano at home. One time, when my father
was fooling around on the piano when I was about 4 years
old, I was able to copy and play back what he did. My
parents saw that I had musical ability and they got
me a piano teacher. I studied classical piano for about
10 years. I then got interested in jazz. The first live
jazz music I heard was big bands performing at the Hollywood
Palladium. My family had moved to Southern California
by then. The first recorded jazz I heard was a Dave
Brubeck Octet record, before he got together with Paul
Desmond.
Tell us about your fateful Buddy
DeFranco tour in 1956.
I auditioned for Buddy DeFranco in Los Angeles at the
Musicians Union and got the gig on the spot. The first
gig was in New York City. We were a 5-piece band: piano,
bass, drums, guitar and Buddy (on clarinet). Four of
us had to drive from California to New York. We met
up with the guitar player in New York since he lived
there. We played at the original Basin Street in New
York City as well as at Birdland, Café Bohemia,
and Smalls in Harlem. We toured the Eastern States and
Canada. We toured for 9-months, playing in each city
for a week. That was how it was done back then. It was
my first on-the-road experience and I met many musicians
along the way.
How did you end up moving to New York?
After seeing Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins
perform at a club called Jazz City in California, I
knew then that I wanted to go to New York because that
was where everything was happening. This was even before
the (Buddy DeFranco) tour. While I was on the tour,
I established connections with many musicians. After
the tour, I played with Chet Baker. When I moved to
New York, I had a friend on York Avenue that I stayed
with. I got gigs right off the bat. I worked with Teddy
Kotick around the New York area. I played at The Five
Spot with Donny Byrd and the Pepper Adams Group. I also
played solo piano at clubs.
Tell us about your first record.
How did that come about?
My first recording was on Riverside Records released
in 1961. I was friends with bassist Chuck Israels and
drummer Joe Hunt and they suggested to producer Orrin
Keepnews to hear me play. At the time, he was looking
for original music to record. Lucky for me, I happened
to be studying composition then and I had written a
piano suite. I quickly rearranged the piece for a jazz
trio and we ended up recording it. The title of the
album was A Day in the City.
You have played with many musicians
throughout your career including Herbie Mann and Elvin
Jones. Their passing away were great losses. Do you
have some fond memories of them you would like to share
with us?
Yes, I played with both of them. I worked with Herbie
Mann for quite a while. I auditioned for him and was
hired on the spot. The story goes like this: I was playing
at a club called Junior’s. Herbie was playing
at Birdland, which was right down the street from Junior’s.
Attila Zoller, a good friend of mine, was playing with
Herbie. Atilla came over to Junior’s to hear me
play and let me know that Herbie needed a piano player.
I walked over and sat in with Herbie and was hired!
We ended up touring together in Japan. This was around
1964. After that, I worked with him at The Village Gate
and toured with him all over the U.S.
I played with Elvin a few times. We were in a gig together
with singer Dick Haymes. Dick was a singer not unlike
Frank Sinatra. He hired Elvin, bassist Scott LaFaro
and me as the rhythm section. Elvin was fantastic. People
think of him as a bombastic drummer, but he was very
versatile and great in any situation. He could play
quietly with a beautiful sound. We played together again
with trumpet player Harry “Sweets” Edison.
Harry played everything with a mute so everyone had
to play soft. Elvin played quietly and beautifully.
Elvin and I played together also with Donald Byrd and
Pepper Adams.
What did you enjoy most about recording the
album Waltz for Debby?
I enjoyed playing with George Mraz and Lewis Nash. Doing
a record is motivation for me to write new music. I
like the process of learning the material and playing
it. We did not rehearse too much together. George and
Lewis are both pros. I did the arrangement for the album.
“35 W. 4th Street” is my favorite track
on that album.
Tell us about your experiences
recording My Favorite Things.
It was very similar to doing Waltz for Debby.
I had a chance to learn new material. I have never played
“My Favorite Things” – I did not know
it. So, I made it my own and re-harmonized it. George
came over and rehearsed a little at my home. There was
a minimum amount of rehearsing. George and Lewis are
great players and could just size up the musical situation
and play their parts beautifully.
Was there anything unique about the specific
performances of each song selected for the album? Is
there a favorite track of yours on the album?
I like “It Could Happen to You”, “Easy
to Love” and “Never Let Me Go.” When
you are in the midst of recording tracks, it is really
hard to step back and see how a song turned out because
you get so involved with the process. You really realize
what you did and how you played much later. You get
a more objective view once you have done it let it settle
for a week.
“Schmooze Blooze”,
“Half and Half” and “Summer’s
End” are your original compositions. Who’s
influences do you find in your compositions?
I see a lot of Wayne Shorter’s, Monk’s and
Chick Corea’s tunes. I like Bill Evans. I am influenced
by many artists since I’ve played a lot of jazz
player’s music. Sometimes, I have preconceived
ideas about what I’m looking for. For example,
in “Schmooze Blooze”, I was going for a
funky groove rather than being sophisticated. In “35
W. 4th Street”, I was delving into harmonic &
melodic possibilities; trying to do something different
in the harmonic & melodic lines.
Do you have a source of inspiration?
Many things inspire me. As I said before, I need some
motivation to write. I cannot just sit down and compose
for the sake of composing. If there is a record date
or if I have a group I am writing for, it makes the
process easier.
What are some future projects in the works that you
are excited about?
I am excited about going to Germany at the end of this
month. I will be playing at the Salzau Jazz Festival
– a jazz festival held at the northern tip of
the Baltic. I will be playing with bassist Martin Wind
and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.
I will be appearing at the Kitano shortly. I am scheduled
to play at The Jazz Standard. I will be playing at Riles
Jazz Club in Boston later in the year. Next year, I
will be participating again in the Hundred Fingers Tour
in Japan. We will also do a Trio tour there.
You have an upcoming album you recorded with
John Patitucci and Omar Hakim. Given the chance, which
are some musicians, you would love to play or record
with that you haven’t before?
Yes, that was a great experience. Let’s see. I’ve
played with A LOT of musicians. I have not played with
Dave Holland. It would be great to play with him.
Tell us about teaching at NYU.
I am still teaching there, have been for at least 25
years. I teach undergraduate & graduate courses.
The students are not all music majors.
Did you find teaching rewarding?
It really depends on the student. If they are really
interested in learning, it is a very rewarding experience.
In what way does being an educator help you with your
recording / performing career and vice versa?
It helps a lot. When I first started teaching, I did
not know how I did a lot of things. Students kept asking
how I did this and how I did that. I play a lot by ear.
I realized that I had to understand and verbalize what
I was doing. I did a lot of reading and looked at things
from an intellectual perspective. By knowing these things
helped me with the playing. The best way to play is
by intuition. Having knowledge adds to it.
Finally, do you have any advice to jazz
pianists / musicians who are starting their careers?
Practice a lot. Listen a lot. Play with as many different
musicians as you can. Phil woods said that if you want
be a jazz musician, you really have to stick with it.